I didn’t wake until seven this morning which was the latest since I got here. That is just about right since with most vacations it takes about three or four days to get out of the back home stress mode and into some sort of vacation state. Its too bad that Americans are limited to their one week vacations because by the time your body unwinds, its time to go back home. Its hardly a vacation. Luckily I have up to twenty-two months to keep unwinding. By then I should be just a pile of some sort of gelatinous goo.

We had talked the night before and Jason and Katie were going to end their stay and head down south to the Soufriere area to do the beach thing. Bam was gracious enough to offer to give them a ride to Roseau since his foot was still not trekking ready. As I was thinking that morning about my own schedule I realized that I too had to either get on the road or I would have to spend the rest of the week there. Everything closes on Sunday so I wouldn’t be able to find a place to stay until Monday and then my flight leaves at seven in the morning on Tuesday, so I had to leave that day. I quickly packed my things and told Jem that I would be checking out and heading up North to check it out as well as to get up closer to the airport. They were fine with me heaving my stuff on theirs so we loaded up and bid our farewell to Jem and the 3 Rivers Eco Lodge. I am going to do a separate write up on 3 Rivers, not because I am going to do reviews of lodgings throughout my travels, but because it provides something more than just lodging that I believe is important enough to write about and to share the info with others.

Even on this trip Bam kept us a breast on the Rastafarian culture, the history of some of the land marks, and a few off the beaten path trails that we had to do the next time we visited. Once we got into town we headed off to a local bookstore to replace a book that got rained on, headed over to the main hotel of the city to pick up some stamps, and then over to the favorite eating place to have some fresh squeezed local juice that I forgot the name of. We sat and talked for about an hour and then decided it was time to go. They dropped me off at the bus stop and said our goodbyes. Bam was debating on taking the two the forty-five minute drive south but I’m not sure what they did.

I grabbed a collective bus which waits until it is filled up and then takes the long drive up to Portsmouth. I was much happier at paying this $8 EC ride or about $3.10 US. With our van loaded to the gills with the 12 of us, we were off. I originally had arranged through Jem a place to stay outside of Portsmouth which would be a bit cheaper however, I could never get in touch with the people. By the time I arrived in Portsmouth I learned that the place was half way between the two cities and I would have to go half way back. I decided to find a place in town. The only budget place listed in the guidebook was closed for the weekend because of the death of a sister. Being such a small town, it also affected me in that a lot of the businesses closed down to go to her funeral as well as being closed on Sunday. I was quickly becoming homeless. I wandered down the main street to see if there was a hotel or something but the only place open wanted $40. The lady just happened to be there next door when I walked by so she showed me what she had available. I was trying to find inexpensive places so I figured I could find one somewhere else. I found the guy who bussed me up to Portsmouth and he gave me a lift checking out the places he knew. All of them were beach side resorts wanting $75 to $100 and on up. I was getting pissed. The problem is that Portsmouth is a medical college town where upwards of a 1000 students stay and go to school. All the local places are set up as either long term apartments or holiday resorts. I went back to the original place in town but the lady was gone to the funeral. I was truly bummed. The taxi driver had saw someone at the corner and quickly ran them down. He came back and said that he found me a place for the $40 a night. I’m sure they wanted less, but I wasn’t going to argue. The place turned out to be a lower unit of a house that was vacated because the previous med student had just graduated. I took my bags inside and I was set. The place was a fully furnished two bedroom one bath unit. The owners lived on the upper level and another Med student lived in the unit next door. The apartment is located just at the edge of town about a ten minute walk to the city center. It is right on the major road so it is very easy to pick up a ride into town. The place turned out to be a perfect lay out for me. My neighbor even stopped by to say hello thinking that he was meeting his new MD neighbor, but happy none the less to meet me, all adventurous and all. We sent up a tentative meeting for the next day to grab some food or get a drink. I was interested to hear about this medical thing going on in the island.

Before I forget, Portsmouth is Dominica’s second largest town which sits on the banks of Prince Rupert Bay. Portsmouth was originally chosen to be the Island’s capital but because of outbreaks of malaria and yellow fever, it was moved to Roseau. I would say that it’s a very laid back beach town not so totally affected by tourism. The major college there is Ross University.

It was getting late so I hiked it into town to get some supplies. I stopped by one of the little grocery stores to pick up some sodas and snacks. Most of the businesses were closed so the town was pretty quiet. I met a lady selling grilled chicked on the street so I bought a piece. On the way home I noticed a little Spanish cantina across the street blaring some tunes and headed in. It was just like walking into the bars in South America. I grabbed a beer (yup, first one in seven years,) had a seat and got some chicken and chips to go. I got my food, walked across the street to my apartment, ate, and passed out.

Come back to these pages later and I should have some pictures uploaded. As long as I get some internet access to post them in Martinique.